Frigid Tigers
by Zadien
Summary: Amber isn't ogling Kai Hiwatari, she's examining him for a weakness. Ian doesn't believe her. Coach needs to reexamine his concept of flirting.


**Frigid Tigers**

 **This was just something I posted on Tumblr and I didn't want to lose it so I'm posting it here. This isn't a prequel to SLTS, but more an Alternative SLTS drabble idea.**

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Amber never considered herself a fanciful person. She didn't dream of white weddings; never pretended to be a princess in need of a dashing prince-her pretend games involved exploring secret tunnels or slamming a puck into a net, imagining they were the heads of her enemies.

But, there was something riveting about watching Kai Hiwatari, the captain of the Clonmel Sharks, stand in a corridor drinking a bottle of water. It froze her in place, the way he looked in that moment: his head tilted slightly, eyes closed, throat working; the way his grey, sweat-dampened t-shirt rose just enough to reveal the jut of a hip bone under firm tanned skin. She wanted to touch him there, just a quick little graze of her fingertips.

It was a revelation. That something so simple could be so…damn fascinating. She licked her lips and exhaled to release the tension in her chest. Her skin felt too tight, heat prickled between her shoulder blades and her cheeks burned.

"You should take a picture, it'll last longer."

She should. Then she could look at it–her brain stuttered to halt. She rounded on her teammate who stood behind her wearing a smug grin. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. "Shut up, Ian."

An evil glint appeared in his red eyes as he shifted his duffle bag over his shoulder. "Why, Benson, are you embarrassed? Caught ogling the enemy! Tsk, tsk."

Amber picked her tongue in her cheek and wished that she had the power to burn him with her eyes. "I was not ogling him. I was studying him for weaknesses."

"Yeah? What weakness does his crotch have?!"

Heat scorched her cheeks and she thumped him in the shoulder. Hard. "Shut up, asshole."

"No, no, you should go have a close-up inspection. On your knees!" He cackled. Amber could almost feel the weight of Kai's assessing gaze.

"I swear to god, I will murder you in your sleep."

"You might be on to something, Benson. Maybe they'll go easy on us if their captain-"

She paused, an idea popping into her head. "Gnomes, Ian." Ian faltered, his eyes flicking around the corridor and she smirked. "All the gnomes in the world will be in your room, in your locker, in the changing rooms. You'll never know where they're hiding–"

"Amber, Ian, stop flirting and get on the bus!"

Amber jumped away from Ian and turned to stare at her Coach. He stood with his clipboard in hand, an equally unimpressed Tala beside him. Flushing, she dropped her gaze from Tala's scrutiny. Buggershit. It would not do for her best friend to suspect she might have a very, _very_ minuscule attraction towards their greatest rival in the world.

"We weren't flirting. I have standards!" Ian snapped, stalking towards the open door where a trio of dried leaves danced in a circle in the October sun. "And Benson is frigid as fuck anyway. Who wants their dick to freeze and fall off? Not me."

Amber clenched her fists in an attempt not to swing for Ian's stupid head. She counted to ten, ignoring Tala's comment that Ian was protesting too much as he and Coach exited through the main doors.

Reaching ten, she huffed out a breath and lifted her hockey stick and bag. "Someone really needs to explain to Coach what flirting actually looks like."

"Are you lost, Benson?"

She scowled as goosebumps prickled over her skin. She sent a quelling look in Hiwatari's direction as he pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning on and advanced on her. He was stalking her. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest and she sucked in a breath, turning to him and forcing back her shoulders. She would not be intimidated.

He stepped into her space, close enough that she could catch the faintest trace of deodorant, ice, and sweat. His dark, mahogany eyes studied her for a long moment, his soft mouth-too soft in such a hard face-tilting up at the corners. "Lost little Tigers shouldn't stay too long in Shark infested waters."

Reminded of their rivalry, Amber lifted her chin and eyed him from under her lashes. "I'm a Siberian Tiger, Hiwatari," she said, stepping around him as she headed to the door. "Any Shark who stupidly tries to take a bite out of me will get their dick frozen off."


End file.
